Zabala Innovation Consulting

What Zabala Innovation Consulting does

Zabala Innovation Consulting, S.A. is a privately held Spanish innovation consulting firm founded in 1986, headquartered in Pamplona with regional offices across 13 locations in 5 countries (Spain, France, Portugal, Belgium, and Global). The firm employs 600+ professionals, including 70+ PhDs, specializing in public financing for R&D+i projects, fiscal incentive optimization, sustainability advisory, and European project management. Its core client base spans large enterprises and industrial groups, SMEs, universities and technology centers, public administrations, and innovative startups, with 10,000+ clients served cumulatively.

The firm's service portfolio includes advisory on national, regional and European public funding programs (Horizon Europe, LIFE, Innovation Fund, CEF), fiscal instruments such as Tax Lease and Patent Box mechanisms, Energy Saving Certificates (CAE), cascade funding management, and strategic consulting for public administrations. Its proprietary platform Kaila aggregates financing opportunities, trends and collaborator identification across European programs. The firm has achieved 70% success rates in national/regional projects and 40% in European programs, returning €6,900M to clients over 2021-2025. It holds ISO 9001 and ISO 56001 certifications and is an EIC Chamber of Commerce Label partner.

The business operates on a quote-based professional services model with specialized teams per program and organization type. Distribution is direct via website consultation requests, 13 regional offices, and content-driven demand generation including webinars, expert publications, and the Kaila platform. Strategic partnerships with the European Commission, CINEA, A.SPIRE, EERA, Waterborne Technology Platform, and SET Plan IWG-Industry underpin its European ecosystem position. Recent partnerships include MONDRAGON Ventures, CEIN and Sodena for the Impulso Emprendedor startup acceleration program. The company operates subsidiaries in France, Portugal, Brussels and Global markets.

Name

Zabala Innovation Consulting

Legal name

ZABALA INNOVATION CONSULTING, S.A.

Website

https://zabala.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Zabala Innovation Consulting is a Spanish-founded (1986) innovation consultancy with 600+ professionals across 5 countries, advising enterprises, SMEs, universities, public administrations and startups on public funding acquisition, fiscal incentives (Tax Lease), sustainability advisory, and European program management, supported by its proprietary Kaila platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA), Financial Management & Performance Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAF), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK), Corporate & Voluntary Procurement Policy (PPAs, Green Tariffs, 24/7 CFE) (EUAMANAH)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting
• R&D funding advisory
• Fiscal incentives
• European project management
• Sustainability financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sevilla

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services - Public Financing: Advisory services for national, regional and European public financing for innovation projects. Services include opportunity identification, proposal design, application processing, and project management until closure.
2. Fiscal Incentives Advisory: Tax deduction optimization services for R&D+i activities including deductions for innovation, researcher bonuses, Tax Lease and Patent Box mechanisms.
3. Sustainability Financing Advisory: Advisory services for sustainability projects including decarbonization, CAE certificates, carbon footprint, water footprint, environmental deductions and social innovation.
4. European Project Management: EU consultancy, proposal elaboration and review, exploitation, dissemination and communication, social innovation and ethics, cascade funding and European project management.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Zabala Innovation Consulting is an international innovation consulting firm that advises companies, SMEs, universities, research centers, and public administrations on identifying, securing, and managing public funding for R&D+i projects. Core offerings include European, national and regional funding advisory, R&D+i fiscal incentive optimization (including Tax Lease), sustainability and decarbonization advisory (including Energy Saving Certificates / CAE), cascade funding management for SMEs and startups, and strategic innovation consulting. The firm also operates Kaila, a proprietary intelligent platform that helps organizations identify, prioritize, and track financing opportunities.

Product overview

Zabala Innovation operates as a consulting firm offering a portfolio of advisory services centered around public funding acquisition, fiscal incentives, and innovation management. The core proprietary product is Kaila, an intelligent platform for identifying and tracking funding opportunities. The service portfolio spans European, national, and regional funding assistance, fiscal incentives (including Tax Lease mechanisms), Energy Savings Certificates (CAE), cascade funding management, and sustainability financing. These services are delivered through specialized consulting teams organized by sector and program type, rather than a modular software architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kaila: Intelligent platform developed by Zabala Innovation to facilitate innovation management and funding search for all types of organizations.

Products and services

• Kaila Platform Intelligent platform that helps organizations identify, prioritize and track financing opportunities by connecting the organization's activity with relevant calls, programs and instruments. Used by enterprises, SMEs, universities and public administrations.
• Diagnóstico de Innovación (Innovation Diagnosis) Online questionnaire-based tool that evaluates a company's innovation capacity and eligibility for public funding and fiscal incentives, providing a personalized diagnosis.
• Calculadora CAEs (Energy Savings Certificates Calculator) Calculator tool that provides an indicative estimate of the economic value that energy savings from efficiency measures could generate through the sale of Energy Savings Certificates.
• Financiación en Cascada (Cascade Funding) Advisory Advisory and management services for cascade funding mechanisms—EU instruments that distribute smaller public funds to SMEs and startups for innovation projects in digital, Industry 4.0, and energy technologies.
• Tax Lease Advisory Advisory on a fiscal instrument enabling entities to sell R&D tax deductions to other parties, providing immediate liquidity for innovation projects without incurring debt, particularly through Economic Interest Groupings (AIE) structures.
• European Funding Advisory (Ayudas Europeas) End-to-end advisory on European funding programs including Horizon Europe, LIFE, Innovation Fund, CEF, and Interreg: search for European projects and partners, preparation and coordination of European project proposals, exploitation, dissemination and communication, and European project management.
• National and Regional Funding Advisory (Ayudas Nacionales) Advisory helping organizations structure their innovation activities into fundable projects to access public financing at national and regional level, achieving a 70% success rate in national and regional project proposals.
• Fiscal Incentives Advisory (Ayudas Fiscales) Advisory helping companies benefit from tax instruments established by public administrations to reduce tax burden or obtain R&D+i bonuses, including deductions for innovation, researcher bonuses, Tax Lease, and Patent Box mechanisms.
• Strategic Innovation Consulting Strategic consulting covering innovation strategy, digital transformation, change management, Public Procurement of Innovation, social innovation, and studies and services for public administrations including regional innovation strategies (RIS3) and industrial plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,900 M€ return to clients (2021-2025)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MONDRAGON VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2026Participating as mentoring company in the 14th edition of 'Impulso Emprendedor' program, supporting innovative startups with acceleration, mentoring and financial support. The program selects up to 10 startups with high growth potential, offering prizes of €64,000 funded by mentoring companies plus up to €100,000 in participating loans from Sodena.
• CEIN (Centro Europeo de Empresas e Innovación de Navarra)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2026Government of Navarra entity promoting the Impulso Emprendedor program. CEIN coordinates the acceleration program selecting innovative startups, providing 6 months of incubator access with support services and internationalization activities.
• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for European programs including Horizon Europe, LIFE, Innovation Fund, CEF, and other EU funding instruments. Zabala Innovation participates in European ecosystems, projects and initiatives.
• CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgency managing LIFE program and Innovation Fund. Zabala Innovation works with CINEA for project proposals and manages client participation in these programs.
• A.SPIRE (Association for Sustainable Process Innovation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association collaborating on SET-IndEU project led by Zabala Innovation, promoting sustainable and efficient energy use in process industry.
• EERA (European Energy Research Alliance)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Alliance of Research Institutes collaborating with Zabala Innovation on SET-IndEU project for energy efficiency in industry.
• Waterborne Technology PlatformminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean public-private partnership with 120 stakeholders in maritime and inland navigation sectors. Zabala Innovation participates in Zero Emission Waterborne Transport partnership under Horizon Europe Cluster 5.
• SET Plan IWG-Industry (Strategic Energy Technology Plan - Industry Working Group)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZabala Innovation leads SET-IndEU project supporting IWG-Industry in advancing sustainable energy use and competitiveness in EU process industry.

Scale indicators23 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PNO Innovation: Dutch-headquartered innovation funding consultancy advising organizations on EU (Horizon Europe, LIFE, Innovation Fund) and national R&D+i programs. Directly comparable to Zabala in service scope, target clients (SMEs, large enterprises, universities, public bodies) and fee-based advisory model.
• Steinbeis Europa Zentrum: German innovation consulting arm of the Steinbeis network supporting EU funding applications, innovation management and technology transfer. Directly comparable in advising on EU programs and serving as intermediary between research institutions and funding bodies.
• Technopolis Group: European research and innovation consultancy providing policy evaluation, impact assessment and R&D+i strategy to public administrations and the European Commission. Comparable to Zabala's public-administration segment and European projects advisory.
• IDEA Consult: Belgian consultancy advising European institutions, regional governments and companies on R&D+i policy, innovation strategy and EU funding. Comparable to Zabala in Brussels-anchored European program advisory and public-sector strategy work.

Emerging players

• Bax Innovation: Brussels-based innovation funding consultancy supporting SMEs and corporates in EU grant applications (Horizon Europe, LIFE, EISMEA). Direct overlap with Zabala's SME cascade funding and EU project advisory, though smaller in scale.

Broad incumbents

• Wavestone: French-headquartered global consultancy with a sizable innovation, digital transformation and energy transition practice across Europe. Competes with Zabala in EU funding advisory and innovation strategy at the enterprise tier, but with broader sector coverage.
• Capgemini Invent: Global consulting arm of Capgemini covering innovation strategy, R&D transformation, sustainability and large-scale EU program consortium leadership. Overlaps with Zabala on strategic innovation consulting and EU funding program participation, with much broader service breadth.
• Arthur D. Little: Global strategy consultancy with dedicated innovation and R&D management practice advising corporates on innovation strategy, portfolio optimization and technology scouting. Comparable to Zabala at the strategic layer of innovation consulting.
• Roland Berger: German-origin global strategy consultancy with innovation, sustainability and public-sector practices. Overlaps with Zabala in European innovation policy advisory and corporate innovation strategy, particularly in DACH and southern Europe.
• PwC Spain Innovation & Sustainability: Spanish practice of PwC offering R&D+i tax credit advisory, EU funding support and ESG/sustainability consulting. Directly comparable to Zabala on Spanish fiscal incentives (Patent Box, Tax Lease) and EU funding capture, but as part of Big 4 portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCkjodHs_4czqN9lIgb82QGA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/270812/admin
• Instagraminstagram.com/zabala_innovation
• Xx.com/Zabala_IC

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zabala Innovation Consulting